I had a request from a reader to share our favorite picture books. She is wanting to create her own home library, and I think it’s super clever to curate a list of my all-time favorite picture books. We are a reading family, so books are a huge part of our life! I compiled a list of the best picture books so that you can start your own library! I hope you enjoy it!
Best Picture Books For Home Library
On many book lists, you’ll find well-known classics, such as Goodnight Moon, or The Runaway Bunny. These are amazing stories, and I’m pretty much assuming you’ll get them as gifts at your baby shower. Ha. I got multiple copies of Goodnight Moon at mine! Anyway, as a former teacher and now homeschool mom I wanted to curate a list with a bit of edge. There are some classics in here for sure, but also some family favorites, and definitely a few underrated stories too!
Lastly, I included a few bonus titles – some poem collections. I personally think every family should read poetry from the beginning! My 18 month old hears poetry every morning during morning time, and now recites some of it! It’s quite remarkable what children will do when we expose them to beauty!
01. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
02. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
03. Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola
04. Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McClosky
05. My Apron by Eric Carle
06. Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
07. Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day
08. Apples to Oregon by Deborah Hopkinson
09. Frog & Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel
10. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
11. Corduroy by Don Freeman
12. The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
13. Stone Soup by Marcia Brown
14. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco
15. A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle
16. Go, Dog Go! by P.D. Eastman
17. Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
18. Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
19. The Mitten by Jan Brett
20. Blueberries for Sal by Robert McClosky
Poetry
The following list of poetry collections is short, but would make a wonderful addition to any at-home library!
01. A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
02. Sing a Song of Seasons: A Nature Poem for Each Day of the Year
03. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Our Family’s Favorite Authors
If you see a book written by the following authors, go ahead and grab it! Some writers just create masterpiece after masterpiece!
01. Jan Brett
02. Eric Carle
03. Tomie De Paola
04. Virginia Lee Burton
05. Beatrix Potter
06. Ezra Jack Keats
I hope this list of our favorite picture books is helpful to you! Thank you so much for reading!